What I Struggle with Most as a Writer

I consider myself to be a writer. I write books mostly for just myself, and it gets my creative side going. I love writing fantasy stuff, because I prefer a world where things fly and magic happens. However, sometimes it is hard to get that magic onto a plain page, and sometimes for hours I can sit at my laptop, staring at that insertion point flicking away, and I somehow cannot bring myself to put those words onto a paper. For me, I find it is hard to start the novel or short story. I know where the story will end and what twists and turns it will take, but that blank page is one of the most intimidating factors about writing. I usually get this wind of inspiration that hits me after playing a video game, or after watching a movie like Lord of the Rings, but then I get to that blank page and I cannot think. I cannot think about a character's name, I just know exactly what is going to happen. Then, I eventually find a name that suits, and the character is formed in my mind, I can see their every freckle and the exact tone of their hair, I can see them saying certain words or phrases. It all comes together in one wholesome human being that does not exist.

This, however, leads me to another dilemma. My minor characters kind of... drift off the page. I cannot see their every detail, I cannot figure out what they say and how they say it, I cannot see their hand gestures or movements. They kind of just... exist. All of the minor characters do not have that dimensional personality like my major characters. It gets lost in the story. For example, right now I am writing a series, and in this series, my major character is the guy that does not know what he is doing, but he somehow always ends up the hero. He does not think things through, he just uses his gut instinct. His emotions are what drive him to save everyone. Then, on the other hand, I have a character who thinks before he does, he is always one step ahead of everyone else, he is more objective in the way he thinks, and he is motivated by his people or team members, and he can kind of be a jerk towards others. Then, the other characters are there. They are like a clone that I have trouble disconnecting them. I can see what they look like, but the image is sort of blurred and not defined. Every minor character that I create is always a part of the plot, they are not just forgotten, they are here to play a part in the play. Once that play is done though, I forget about the minor characters. That's what I struggle with the most.

I have always had trouble with editing. I always hated doing it, and I never enjoy it. I'm reading my work, but I cannot enjoy it, because I am too busy looking for grammatical errors. But, recently I discovered a way to fix this. Instead of writing all my chapters in one word document. I started breaking it down chapter by chapter and it has been so much better doing that than seeing all 105 pages in a word document and rolling my eyes back thinking "this is so much work," but when it is split up in chapters, each chapter is around four or five pages, and it makes it a lot easier to read and to go through. I can always add certain elements in each chapter too. It is easier to spot those mistakes in small spaces.

Almost every creative writer out there believes that writer's block is a myth. Every single writer that writes about their writing believes this to be true. However, I cannot fathom how much writer's block I get. Yes, there is inspiration all around me, but there are days where I cannot think what will happen next in my plot line or with my characters, and when I start writing I have no idea where my words are taking me. Then, when I read it, overall I am seeing jargon that is completely unrelated to the story I am telling. Maybe, it's not called writer's block though, maybe it is and should be referred to as restless writing. The reason for the writer's block is because I am unfocused, and I somehow cannot remember where I left the story off, and when I reread it I remember where I was, but then the dots are not connecting to what I want to write and what is already written down. And I cannot connect those dots, because it just does not make sense.

These are the struggles that I come to at least once a week when it comes to my writing. What are your struggles? do you relate to this? That's just some food for thought.